Daily Brief Energy/Materials: Gold, Hanil Cement Co Ltd/New, KEFI Minerals PLC, Pharos Energy, Asian Paints, Warriedar Resources and more

• Discussing research on gold and related metals with Dr. Dirk Bauer
• Examining the valuation of gold compared to other asset classes
• Differentiating between gold’s role as a hedge and a safe haven in times of financial turmoil

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• After the market close today (17 July), Hanil Cement Co Ltd/New (300720 KS) and Hanil Hyundai Cement (006390 KS) announced that they will merge.
• Through this merger, Hanil Cement (on a combined basis with pro-forma sales of 1.74 trillion won in 2024) will become the largest cement company in Korea after Ssangyong Cement Industrial.
• We expect this merger to have a positive impact on both companies and they are likely to outperform the market and other local cement producers this year. 

Since our last note at the end of March, KEFI has appointed BCM as its preferred mining contractor and raised £7.6m in equity (supported by Konwave, Phoenix, Premier Miton, RAB and Ruffer, among others) to expedite the launch of the Tulu Kapi project. On site, it has constructed a new access road, a temporary construction camp, security camps and logistics control rooms, as well as drilling water boreholes and completing contractors’ certifiers’ inspections. New host lands have been allocated for all local residents requiring resettlement, and property surveys for compensation for Phase 1 resettlement, for a temporary construction camp, security camps and for a new access road have all been completed. This week, it announced the triggering of compensation payments to the resettling community. As a result, its US$320m financing package is now entering its final stages, with independent certifications targeted for completion this month and definitive agreements next month, followed by drawdown and mobilisation shortly thereafter. With contractual finalisation imminent, KEFI’s shares are at a key inflection point, with the company now targeting first gold in late FY27.

• 1H25 production was 5,642 boe/d, broadly in line with our expectations of ~5,800 boe/d.
• This also compares well with production of 5,757 boe/d from January to April.
• Production in Vietnam remained stable at 4,183 boe/d in 1H25, compared to 4,216 boe/d over the January–April period.

• Grasim (Birla Opus) filed an antitrust complaint alleging Asian Paints used dealer-exclusivity, supply-chain pressure, and reputational tactics to throttle its rollout.
• CCI’s prima-facie order opens a DG probe; outcome could reset the playbook on dealer contracts in all B2C staples. 
• DG has 90 days to file its report. Possible end-states: (i) dismissal, (ii) monetary penalty + conduct remedies (exclusivity clauses void), (iii) structural remedy (unlikely).

• Warriedar Resources Limited (ASX:WA8) is an emerging gold and antimony developer whose flagship Golden Range project hosts ~2.3moz in AuEq resources in the prolific gold-producing Murchison region of Western Australia.
• Since the acquisition of the project in CY23, WA8 has expanded the gold resource and delineated a globally significant antimony resource which is also contained in the core Ricciardo deposit.
• Whilst the gold resource alone could support a commercial development, the overlapping antimony resource not only increases the economic value, it adds a strategic value to the project given the supply shortages and trade restrictions affecting this commodity.